Mohammed Kudus scored twice as Ghana rallied from a two-goal deficit to defeat South Korea 3-2 on Monday at the Education City Stadium in Group H of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The West African nation was expected to put in a gutsy performance after losing to Portugal in another five-goal thriller, and the players delivered by scoring two quick goals in the first half.
Mohammed Salisu opened the scoring before Kudus took centre stage. In 24 minutes, Salisu scored from close range after South Korea failed to deal with a free kick. Kudus’ glancing header from Jordan Ayew’s cross made it 2-0 ten minutes later, making Ghana the first country in 40 years to score and concede at least five goals in a World Cup. In addition, the Black Stars have scored in seven consecutive World Cup games.
South Korea responded with two goals early in the second half, turning Ghana fans’ dream into a nightmare.
Ghana, which had not won a World Cup match since 2010, scored the game-winning goal in 68 minutes through Kudus. The forward for Ajax Amsterdam curled a low shot into the goal, making everyone on the bench and in the stands cheer.
With three points from two games, Ghana will face Uruguay in their final group match for a place in the knockout phase.
Earlier in the day, Cameroon rallied from a two-goal deficit to tie Serbia 3-3 in a classic.
The Indomitable Lions took the lead through Jean-Charles Castelletto before goals from Strahinja Pavlovic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, and Aleksandar Mitrovic threatened to send Cameroon packing from Qatar.
Rigobert Song’s team, on the other hand, held on for a point thanks to goals from Vincent Aboubakar and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting. They have everything to play for when they face five-time World Cup champions Brazil in their final group match on Friday.